Block-printing machine



Dec. 6, 1955 B. F. HERR 2,725,653

BLOCK-PRINTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1952 C5 Sheets-Sheet 1 TO CURING CHAMBER INVENTOR BENJAMIN FRANKLIN HERR ATTORNEY Dec. 6, 1955 HERR 2,725,653

BLOCK-PRINTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1952 a Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BENJAMIN FRANKLIN HERR ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 29, 1952 INVENTOR BENJAMIN FRANKLIN HERR ATTORNEY United States Patent strong Cork Con'i'pany, Lancaster, Pan,v a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 29,' 152, Serial No. 312,150

Claims: (Cl. 41-1) This-invention.relates:to amachine for striating wet coloringmaterial 'such :as paint and more particularly to an apparatus forstriating wet-paint .or the like applied to a surface with-a1block printingmachine:

It is customary in the'manufacture of floor and wall coveringsto apply thewear coating. .in pattern, and flat blockprinting machines are customarily. employed, for. they are capable of applying a thick layer of relatively heavy-bodied paint. Usually. the-pattern is defined by the outline or shape of the block printing: surfaces, but in some instances striated or so-called'marbleized efiects are obtained by engaging the block-applied pattern while the paint'isstill' wet andlaterally blendingthe'applied colors of paint to obtain the desired efifect. Brushes, wire card cloth, pile fabrics, air jets, .and other. arrangementshave been provided to obtain striated efiects'.

The present invention. is concerned with the striation of wet paints-in a novel mannerv and is especially. useful in fiat block-printing machines to effect striation' of wet. paints applied by, the flat printing blocks of the'machine.

An object ofthe invention: is to provide a machine of the type mentioned above in which striation is effected along a direction or directionsdiagonallyofthe-lengtlrof the decorated fabric.

Another object-of the invention is to: provide astriating unit which may be mounted in a flat block-printing machine and actuated by the conventional head-elevating mechanism. providedin flat block-'printingmachines.

A further objectof theinventionis to provide a striating: unit which maybe loweredv tobring the striatingmaterial. into engagement'with previously applied decoratingfpaint or thelilze, moved diagonally. of the length of the fabric being decorated, and then removed'therefrom.

Other objects of the invention will be clearfrom the description of an embodiment of the invention which follows, referencebeing made to the accompanyingrdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a printing machine illustrating the relationship of thestriating'units'ofthe present invention to the flat printing. blocks-of a convert tional flat block-printing machine;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic View of a piece of floor covering material illustrating one type of striated pattern Figure 8 is a sectional view taken alongi'the line8''8 of Figure 4; I

Figures 9.-and.10 are views'in side-elevationv of 'aiheadr moving mechanism similar to that of Figures 4 and 5 butarranged to eitect diagonal motiontothehead' int a direC- tion opposite to that of the unit of Figures 4 and 5; and

Figures 1 1' and: 12 are top plan viewsofil'thezhead-mow ing'mechanisrnof Figures 4*an'd5, respectively.

The device-shown in the drawingsincludes' a convenetional -printing head 2 mounted on head slide'3 (one'side only'of the machineis shown in Figure 3.) for vertical reciprocation toward and away from a bed4, overwhich is positioned a web of fabric such as felt base to be deco? rated, the web being arranged for. intermittent movement from station to station along themachine in the usual manner. Motion'is irnparted toeach head b'y head elevat-i ing cams 5 which engage cam follower rollers 6 mounted on the head slides 3 disposed on opposite sides oflthe bed. 5% Mounted onthe printing head 2 is a block 7 havingna facing 8 which. may be of wire card cloth or other: material suitable forstriating wet printing paint.-

Mechanism is provided for moving the-printing head] and the block T with the striating facing'material .8 in a generally diagonal direction: at an" angle of about: to the lengt'h 'of-the fabric being printed While the striating isin engagement with'the wet. printing paint-depo t'ed on thefabric, the printing head being elevatedafter'each striating operation to permitforward movement f the fabric to bringlatresh section thereof into position for striationy whereupon, the printing head is again lowered and the striating operation is repeated.

With certain types of designs or'patterns; itis desirable to striate-certain' areas of the'fabric in one direction at a 45 angle to 'the length of thetabric and other areas: in the opposito'direction, also. at. 2145 angle to the:lengthi of'tlre'sfabric; This may be accomplished: by arranging one printing head to move at 2145 angle in onedirection and another to move at similar angle but'in' the opposite direction, Mechanisms for providing. both" motions"; are" shown inthe'ldrawings; Figures 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, and. 12 show means for'rnoving a printing.head"in'one' direction,and

Figures 6, 7, 9, and. 10- show-means for moving a head in an opposite direction Figures 4-and 5 show the moving mechanism for opipositesides of a single printing head, and Figures 11 and 12 are top plan views of. the mechanismshown in Figures; 4 and'S, respectively.

Referringfi'rst to Figures. 3 4, 5, 8, art-dill, mounted on the-head slides 3 are printing head mounting blocks 9 which: as'shown in Figure 4 are? supported by rectangular. slide blocks--10 received within rectangular openings in: the mounting blocks'9,.the slide blocks'l0' being connected to' the head slides 3 by brackets 11 eachof which receives a connecting-pin 12', the pin 12 passingv through the slide block. 10'. This arrangement provides for vertical reciprocation of the printing head 2 with the headaslides 3 and. permits limitedv movement of the head in a horizontal plane. This later movement is efifected in timed relationship with the vertical reciprocation of the printing head: toefiect the desiredmovement in a horizontal planewhen the printing head is lowered and'th'e striating material 8 is in engagement with: the wet paint; The headelevating. cams-5= (Figure 3) are providedz with a dwell. surface por-" tion: 13 which follows a: path. concentric with the axis of the cam shaft, and thusno movement ofrthe follower roller 6 occurs. during: the interval when the dwell surface 13: engages' the: follower roller 6; This; dwell: surfacei'i'si provided at: the-:lowermostpoint of? each-cam" so th'at-the? head slides S-are in: their lowermost positions, asshown in Figure 3, with the striatin'g surface 8 in: engagement: with; the'wet paint to be' acted. upon d-uringz thetransversei mo-= tion of the head;

A head-traversing cam1'4 is-secured to' each:headt-'= elevating; cam 5" by: a' pressure"pl-ate cam 15' 'whichis previded to draw the head into lowered position; with; the striating surface 8 penetrating the material to-be striatedj The head-traversing cams14ware positioned witht'respect to head-elevating cams 5 and the pressure plate cams 15 in such manner that traversing of the head 2 by cams 14 is effected during the dwell of the head in its lowered position. To effect this traversing motion of the head 2, an actuating arrangement is provided on each side of the head including a cam follower roller 16 journalled in a bracket 17 which is pinned to a vertical operating shaft 18 which is in turn journalled in bearing blocks 19 and 20 fixed to the head slide 3 for movement therewith. Pinned to operating shaft 18 is a lug 21. A connecting link 22 is pivoted to the lug 21 by a pin 23. This link is also pivoted by a pin 24 to a freely pivoted link 25 which is in turn pivoted by a pin 26 to a mounting block 27 secured to the head slide 3. A lug 28 is secured to the mounting block 9, and the freely pivoted link 25 is connected thereto by pivot pin 29. A torque spring 30 encircles shaft 18 and has one end thereof secured in bearing block 20 and the other end in an adjusting collar 31 secured to shaft 18. This spring serves to move the cam roller 16 to a position for engagement with the surface of cam 14 for transverse movement of the head by the cam and serves to effect the return movement of the head to its normal or at-rest position.

It will be noted that cam 14 has in inclining portion 32 followed by a fiat or dwell portion 33 and then a reclining portion 34. These are correlated with the surface of head-elevating cam 5 and the pressure plate cam 15 to provide for movement of the inclining surface 32 of the cam 14 with respect to follower roller 16 to effect traversing of the head 2 during the dwell of the head in its lowered position through surface 13 of cam 5, and with the head held in its lowered position by pressure plate cam 15. There then follows a dwell of the transverse movement of the head 2 (the dwell portion 33 of cam 14) while the head is being elevated to withdraw the striating material from the wet paint without smearing; and then, as the head continues to be elevated, a return of the head transversely to its original position by the action of spring 30, the surface 34 of traversing cam 14 permitting a gradual return of the head to its normal position.

When the vertical operating shaft 18 is rocked by movement of the traversing cam 14, in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figure 3, lug 21 which is pinned to shaft 18 will move to the left, drawing link 22 in that direction. This in turn pivots link 25 about pivot 26, and motion is imparted to the head through lug 28 which is pivoted at 29 to link 25, the lug 28 being fixed to the mounting block 9 which is free to slide on slide block 10 in both longitudinal and transverse directions. It will be noted from an examination of Figure 3 that the mounting block 9 is free to move to the left, being engaged on the right by the arm of bracket 11, and that it is free to move transversely to the right as shown in Figure 4. Actually, the motion imparted is in an arc with a slight rise, about of an inch, with the motion being generally at a 45 angle to the length of the printed fabric. The distance of transverse movement maybe about /8 of an inch.

The printing heads are generally quite heavy to provide for adequate rigidity to effect good uniform contact between the striating material and the wet paint, and the paints employed are relatively thick and heavy bodied. For these reasons, it is preferred to have similar traversing mechanism on each end of the printing head, one pushing the head while the other simultaneously pulls it. Figures 5 and 12 shown an arrangement for use in cooperation with the traversing mechanism of Figures 3, 4, 5, 8, and 11. The arrangement is essentially the same, and similar parts have been similarly numbered. The linkage arrangement is diiferent, however, to provide the proper pulling motion for cooperation with the pushing motion effected on the opposite side of the printing head. The vertical actuating shaft 18 is pinned to a lug 35 which is pivoted by pin 36 to lug 28 connected to mounting block 9.

The unit described is efiective for moving the printing 4 head 2 of Figure l diagonally of the length of the printing head, across the fabric in a direction generally from right to left as shown in Figure 3. To effect striation in an opposite direction, a block similar to that of Figure 3 may be provided with the traversing mechanism arranged to move the head in a diagonal direction from left to right when viewed as in Figure 3. Such an arrangement may be essentially the same as shown in the views previously described, except that the traversing cams will be positioned so as to rotate the vertical operating shafts in a direction opposite to that of the shafts 18 of Figures 6, 7, 9, and 10.

Most of the parts shown in these views are identical with those of the head-traversing mechanism of the other views, and corresponding numbers have been applied. The essential difference lies in the disposition of the traversing cams necessary to effect rotation of the vertical operating shafts in the desired direction. Also, the units are reversed in position on the machine as will be noted by comparing Figures 4 and 5 with Figures 9 and 10 and noting that the linkage arrangement of Figure 4 will be incorporated in the unit of Figure 10 disposed on the opposite side of the machine.

The traversing cams 39 of Figures 6, 7, 9, and 10 will have the same contour as the others, but as will be seen by comparing Figures 4 and 9, for instance, the cam 14 of Figure 4 will rotate the shaft 18 in a counterclockwise direction; Whereas, the cam 39 of Figure 9 will rotate its vertical actuating shaft 40 in a clockwise direction.

The striating device is preferably incorporated into a fiat block-printing machine such as diagrammatically shown in Figure 1. There a web of fabric such as a felt floor or wall covering foundation 41 is fed from a roll over the bed 42 of the printing machine, and a base color and two striating colors are applied by printing blocks 43, 44, and 45, respectively. The fabric carrying the wet printing paints deposited at the stations of blocks 4345 is intermittently moved into the station of striating block 46 and certain of the pattern elements are striated in a diagonal direction, such as the elements 47 and 48 of Figure 2. The web is then intermittently moved to the station of striating block 49, and other pattern elements are striated in a diagonal direction, as indicated at 50 and 51 in Figure 2, generally at right angles to the direction of the striations 47 and 48 of that figure, for example. This produces a striated pattern similar to a jaspe grained linoleum laid in individual blocks with diagonally directed jaspe graining.

The fabric may be delivered from the printing machine to a curing chamber as indicated in Figure 1, should the nature of the surface decoration require. Oil paints normally require a stoving period at elevated tem peratures; other paints and coating materials may be air dried, fused by radiant heating, or otherwise hardened for use after striation.

I claim:

1. In a decorating machine, the combination of a head, striating means carried by the head, elevating means for raising and lowering said head to bring said striating means into position to striate material intermittently positioned therebelow and to elevate said striating means out of engagement with said material to permit movement of a fresh area to be striated into position below said striating device, and means carried by said head-elevating means for moving said striating means diagonally with respect to its length with said striating means in engagement with said material, said last named means comprising a cam carried by said head-elevating means, an operating shaft, means connected to said operating shaft and engageable with said cam for rotating said shaft, and a linkage connected to said head for translating said ro tary motion of said operating shaft into a generally diagonal motion of said striating means with respect to its length.

2. In a decorating machine, the combination of a head mounted on slides for reciprocation in a vertical direction toward and away from a surface to be decorated, striating means carried by said head and engageable with the surface to be decorated when said head is in lowered position, sliding blocks carried by said head slides, mounting blocks on which said head is mounted for sliding movement in a horizontal plane in a direction diagonally of the length of said head on said sliding blocks, a cam for reciprocating said head, and means carried by said cam for imparting diagonal motion to said head in timed relationship with the vertical motion of said head to move said striating means diagonally when the same has been lowered into engagement with the surface to be striated, said last named means comprising operating shafts carried by said head slides, linkages connecting said operating shafts to said head-mounting blocks, and means for imparting coincidental motion of rotation to said operating shafts to move said mounting blocks and the block carried thereby in a diagonal direction with respect to the length of the block.

3. In a decorating machine having a head mounted on a pair of vertically reciprocable head slides for movement toward and away from a surface to be decorated lying in a substantially horizontal plane therebelow and elevating cams having actuating surfaces for vertically reciprocating said head slides with a downward motion, a dwell, and an upward motion, the combination of striating means on said head, slide blocks mounted on said head slides, mounting blocks carried by said head slides and supporting said head for limited sliding motion in a horizontal plane substantially diagonally of the length of said head, operating shafts carried by said head slides, and headtraversing cams carried by said head-elevating cams having actuating surfaces for imparting motion to said operating shafts to rotate the same in one direction during the dwell interval of said head-elevating cam and to dwell during a portion at least of the head-elevating interval of said head-elevating cam.

4. In a decorating machine having a head mounted on a pair of vertically reciprocable head slides for movement toward and away from a surface to be decorated lying in a substantially horizontal plane therebelow and elevating cams having actuating surfaces for vertically reciprocating said head slides with a downward motion, a dwell, and an upward motion, the combination of striating means on said head, slide blocks mounted on said head slides, mounting blocks carried by said head slides and supporting said head for limited sliding motion in a horizontal plane substantially diagonally of the length of said head, operating shafts carried by said head slides, headtraversing cams carried by said head-elevating cams having actuating surfaces for imparting motion to said operating shafts to rotate the same in one direction during the dwell interval of said head-elevating cam and to dwell during a portion at least of the head-elevating interval of said head-elevating cam, and spring means for urging said operating shafts to rotate the same in a direction opposite to that imparted by said head-traversing cams to move said head in a horizontal direction to its initial position subsequent to elevation of said striating means away from said surface to be decorated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

